There has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,773 a control device which comprises a push button actuatable to exert a pull on a flexible control element in the form of a sheathed wire or cable. The push button is slidably installed in a housing, and is rigid with a sloping or frusto-conical part, a ball being interposed between this sloping or frusto-conical part and a slider which is slidably installed in the housing and to which is secured the wire or cable.